Winners of environmental management awards

by S. C.

Seven organisations have won the European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) Awards for excellence in environmental management.
The awards recognise outstanding achievements in environmental management. The 2009 awards focused on the supply chain including green procurement.
This year 32 organisations from 12 European countries were nominated. The seven winners were selected by a jury of six experts in the field of environmental management and public procurement.

Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said: "I congratulate all the winners on their achievements and thank them for the excellent example they are setting. By purchasing goods and services that respect the environment, companies and organisations can have a major influence on suppliers and stimulate the market for more sustainable products".

The results are as follows:

Micro-organisation: Eco-Conseil Entreprise, Belgium

Eco-Conseil is an environmental consulting company based in Brussels. The company won the award for its commitment to practising what it preaches. It has proved it can successfully apply green procurement and substantially reduce its environmental impact. This includes using 'green electricity' and offsetting emissions generated by international air travel. Some 98% of the company's total expenditure is 'green'.

Small organisation: VAS & EK Kottaridi GP, Greece

VAS & EK Kottaridi GP, located in Kalamata, Messinia, specialises in the production and trading of lime and lime mash. The company has been recognised for its close cooperation with local suppliers. Its kiln is fired with locally sourced olive-pip wood, a residue from the production of olive oil. More than 80% of the company's contracts are 'green'.

Medium organisation: Austria Glas Recycling, Austria

Austria Glas Recycling (AGR) organises the collecting and recycling of used glass packaging throughout Austria. The company, which transports as much of the glass as possible by train, was praised for its successful green procurement based on cooperation and dialogue between stakeholders. AGR also uses environmental criteria for procurement of office supplies, organisation of events and electricity.

Large organisation: VAE Eisenbahnsysteme, Austria

VAE designs and manufactures special track work for railways. The company applies comprehensive environmental criteria to procurement and has increased its purchases from certified suppliers. It was also congratulated for its extraordinary engagement in greening its energy supply by investing in the production of renewable energy, making green energy available to other users and creating local jobs.

Public administration:

Three prizes were given in this category, due to an equal evaluation by the jury.

Land Oberösterreich, Austria

The central procurement office of the federal state government of Oberösterreich, was recognised for its efforts to mainstream sustainable procurement within the region. The office, which covers more than 200 government agencies as a central federal procurement department, uses EU GPP criteria in its procurement procedures and was commended for its integrated and ambitious approach.

Umweltbundesamt, Germany

Umweltbundesamt is Germany's central federal authority on environmental matters. It provides scientific support to the federal government and information to the public on environmental issues and is also responsible for implementing environmental laws. The agency has implemented a comprehensive system to practise ambitious green public procurement. It works with 50 EMAS-registered partners and 62 suppliers that hold the German national ecolabel "Blauer Engel".

Environment Agency, United Kingdom

The Environment Agency is responsible for protecting and improving the environment and promoting sustainable development in England and Wales. The Environment Agency spends more than half its budget on large construction works and is very conscious of their impact on the environment. A sustainability risk assessment is carried out for all contracts over €29,000. The Environment Agency received a high score for its special efforts in developing a sustainable supply chain, training for staff and the scope of its procurement policy.

Awards

The awards have been made from recycled materials by the Trash Design department of the Disassembly and Recycling Centre (DRZ) in Vienna. The centre, which is EMAS-registered, constructs tools for everyday life from dismantled parts of electrical and electronic waste.